Māori Economic Development Taskforce

Māori Economic Development Taskforce

IWI Infrastructure and Investment Māori Economic Development Taskforce May 2010 E te kāhui tipua, Nei rā te reo o Aoraki maunga e topa atu ana ki a koutou hai mihi. E kore rawa tā Tahu Pōtiki puna whakamihi e mimiti noa. Ko koutou tērā e whakaheke mōtuhi ana kia whai oranga ai te iwi Māori. Kua roa nei koutou e whakaporo riaka ana kia ea ai ngā wawata o ō koutou ake whānau, o ō koutou ake hapū, o ō koutou ake iwi. Ko ngā puapua ki aromea kua tutuki i a koutou. Nō reira, kei te mihi. Eke panuku, eke Tangaroa. Nā koutou te reo karanga, nā mātou ngā kupu tautoko kia okea ururoatia ngā taunāhua o te iwi Māori. E ai ki te whakataukī a ō tātou nei tūpuna, ki te kotahi te kākaho ka whati, ki te kāpuia te kākaho e kore e whati. Nō reira e aku rangatira, nei rā te karanga o Aoraki maunga ki ngā tōpito katoa o te motu kia karapinepine mai i raro i te whakaaro kotahi. Nō reira e aku manukura, nau mai tauti mai ki raro i tōna poho hai wānanga, hai kōrerorero, hai ara whakamua mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS These materials have been prepared by Mark Solomon under the Māori Economic Taskforce. The Māori Economic Taskforce was established in March 2009 as a result of the Māori Economic Summit and is a key initiative for the enhancement of Māori economic prosperity. On 28 January 2009, the Minister of Māori Aff airs held an Economic Summit to canvass ideas and potential initiatives to ensure Māori could both mitigate the eff ects of the economic downturn and position themselves to reap the benefi ts of economic recovery. The Māori Economic Taskforce is the brainchild of this workshop and will support the introduction and implementation of initiatives to enhance Māori economic prosperity in the short-term and beyond the recession, as well as promote and utilise kaupapa Māori and Māori structures as drivers of prosperity. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Particular acknowledgement for the completion of these papers is due to; • Hon Dr Pita Sharples for his commitment to Māori development and leadership of the Taskforce; • Taskforce members Hon. Georgina Te Heuheu, Daphne Luke, June McCabe, Rob McLeod, Bentham Ohia and Ngahiwi Tomoana. As well as former member Hon John Tamihere; • The Price Waterhouse Coopers team who have shown remarkable dedication in preparing these papers. Keynote Address Ministerial Taskforce on Māori Economic Development “Iwi and Māori assets – the new economic power” Keynote address by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Friday, 7 May 2010 Mihimihi Welcome and thank you all for joining us here this evening. Tēnā koutou e ngā rangatira for making the trip down to Te Waipounamu for tonight’s function and this weekend’s Iwi Leaders hui. Greetings also to the distinguished business community representatives and National Infrastructure Unit officials with us tonight. I also want to salute the Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples, for his vision and commitment to Iwi Māori in setting up the Taskforce on Māori Economic Development, which was the genesis for the kete of economic guidelines for Iwi Māori we are launching tonight. We do not forget it was the very new Minister of Māori Affairs – just months into his job after the November 2008 election – who was the first Minister in the Key Government to hold a summit on the then recession-bound economy. A good four weeks before the Prime Minister held his, in fact. Eighty were invited to that Māori Economy Summit. And 120 turned up! So you can’t accuse us of not being fired up on the economic front. From that Summit came the call from Iwi leaders and Māori business chiefs that we want to determine our own economic direction and kaupapa. Hence the setting up of a Māori Economic Development Taskforce, chaired by Dr Sharples himself. The Taskforce has seven key areas: tribal asset and collaboration, the primary sector, education and training, small to medium enterprises, social and community development, investment and enterprise, and economic growth and infrastructure. I was appointed chair of the asset and collaboration workstream. Tonight is a milestone for our group, launching guidelines which will inspire Iwi Māori to work together, create critical mass, partner with the Crown and private sector. so that we become a major pillar of the Aotearoa New Zealand economy. But before looking at these guidelines, I’d like to give you a message that rangatira know well. That message is about our country, our economy, our future – and not to put too fine a point on it – the message is BROWN. Māori, and our Pacific Island cousins, are the workforce of our future and Iwi are the emerging economic giant of our country. Individually, Iwi are finding their feet – collectively, we can stand together and determine our future. It’s a simple fact, but a vitally important one when thinking about Iwi Māori – WE ARE HERE FOREVER! We are as much part of the landscape as the mountains and the lakes – our people will always be here, our focus will always be here and our money will remain here. To understand New Zealand’s economic future, we must first understand our future demographic realities. In Census 1951 we were 6.9% of the population. In Census 2006 that had grown to 14.6%. That’s one in seven New Zealanders. Statistics New Zealand’s future projections predict that in 2026 we will be 17% of the population. There is no official projection for 2050, but on this curve, it’s entirely possible that the Māori population will double what it is today – well over the one million mark. Statistics also tell us that the Māori population is a young one. The median age for Māori males – at 21 - is almost 14 years below that of New Zealanders in general. For Māori females it is almost 13 years below. A Statistics New Zealand projection for 2026 – just 16 years from now – shows what the ethnic make-up of students aged 5-9 will look like. Combined European and Other Populations are decreasing - from 212,000 today to 189,400 in 2026. Meanwhile Māori and Pasifika are growing. Their combined total today is 108,000, but by 2026 it is estimated to grow to 140,000. A 30% increase in just 16 years. It’s entirely probably there will be more Māori and Pasifika children in our schools than Pakeha well before the middle of this century. I don’t have to tell you that these statistics are important to business leaders. They paint a picture of tomorrow’s workforce. Tomorrow’s nation. Incidentally, a full set of these graphs is in the kete folders to be given out this evening. I’d now like to talk about the “Iwi economy”. While there has been significant growth in Iwi and Māori enterprise over recent decades, I believe it is in the Iwi management of its Treaty assets that we will see the most spectacular development. It is Iwi that will be the economic powerhouses of the future. Following the Second World War, job and economic pressures forced Māori to move to urban areas and there was a breakdown of traditional Māori family structures and rural lifestyles. But today, Iwi are regrouping, regathering our resources and rebuilding. According the Te Puni Kokiri – the Ministry of Māori Development – the total commercial assets owned in 2005/2006 by Māori individuals, whanau, hapu and Iwi stood at $16.5billion – a massive increase of $7.5 billion from 2001. However, I believe these statistics should be treated with caution. Not only are they now very outdated, but they only include the quantum received by Iwi through significant Treaty Settlements. They do not factor in the growth on balance sheets through borrowing and capital raising against these assets. They do not include the total assets of any specific and sizeable private companies, for example: Whalewatch Kaikōura or the Tamaki Heritage Tours. They do not include Māori who have gone into business for themselves. And I include here the huge number of Māori trade trainees who have gone on to run businesses but do not promote themselves as Māori business. And they do not include the wealth and intrinsic value of other Māori enterprise. For example, the three Wananga – Raukawa, Awanuiarangi or Aotearoa, the later being nationwide and one of the biggest tertiary institutions in the country today. And it doesn’t include the hundreds of Māori health and social service providers up and down the land. Or Māori Television – which had barely begun when this TPK research was done. In the area of employment and skills development: a topic that is upper-most at this time of global economic contraction, Māori Television – while mostly Government funded - is a true champion. A BERL report, commissioned by Māori Television in late 2008, shows that every year since 2004, between 500-600 full-time equivalent jobs have been created as a result of the activities of Māori Television and the independent production community who make many of its programmes. Of those, 170 are permanent staff at Māori Television. The BERL report also shows that for the year to June 2008 Māori Television and its production community contributed more than $41 million to New Zealand’s GDP. Since 2004, that contribution has amounted to more than $185 million. Māori Television is having a positive impact on our culture, our skill base and our economy. There has been focus on the commercial successes of Waikato Tainui and Ngāi Tahu – our combined assets are now in excess of $1billion.

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